I have been thinking about getting my Highlander on floats since before it was finished. After two years on wheels and skis I bit the bullet and ordered a set of Clamar 1400 amphibious floats from Clair. The floats were delivered to Oshkosh this year and Tom Bauer from Aero Sport Outfitters picked them and brought them to his shop north of Sturgeon Bay, WI. I sent Tom the base paint color and he did an awesome job prepping and painting the floats. Tom's partner for the installation and check out flights is Ken Smith. Ken owns Harbor Sport Aviation and has been around floats planes a long time. He and Tom work together and have installed over 60 sets of floats on all types of Light Sport Aircraft. We worked together on some of the details and their workmanship it outstanding. I flew the plane into Tom's grass strip late August and flew the plane home today. Ken is also an instructor so he was able to fulfill my insurance requirements before I could solo. Ken flew the first test flights to make sure the rigging, water and land landings were good. The guys really nailed the installation. Ken and I were able to put a little over 10 hours and 40 plus landing on the plane. I took a few shots on the way home and after landing back in MI. I'll try and get some Go Pro video over the next week or so. On wheels I usually cruise at 95 MPH burning 4.4 GPH running 5200 RPM. on the way home I was running 5300 RPM burning 4.8 GPH and still cursing at 95MPH. The empty weight came in at 933lbs. The GWT is 1,550 so I have over 600lbs useful load, way more than my wife and I need.

I'm not sure but I think this may be the first Highlander on Clamar 1400's.

Hi Gary,Those Clamar floats look great!!! The gloss white paint looks perfect with your plane and you are likely correct in assuming it's the first one on Clamar floats.If I had the coin, I would have bought them too, since they are made locally here in Ontario and are arguably the very best float on the market, but they were almost 3 times the price of a Zenair 1450 Amphib kit, albeit higher quality. Maybe someday I will upgrade to Clamars, but for now, I have well over 100 hours on my Zenairs since I installed them in April of this year.Your numbers sound about the same, with cruise just under 100 mph at 5500 rpm and 95 mph around 5300 rpm. My empty weight is just a little bit higher, but it sure is nice to still have 600 pounds of useful load on floats!Have fun on them and be safe... maybe we will get to fly together sometime in our Highlander float planes.DanHighlander #241

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.~Henry Ford

Dan,Really appreciate you posting all the good data on your float install. Mine are mounted similar to yours. Looking forward to getting a month or so of float flying in before the wheels and skis need to go back on.

Hi Gary,No problem... I too am hoping for a few more weeks! I just got back from a flight up to the Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It's right on the St.Mary's River a few hundred yards north of the Canada/US border. They have a huge ramp you can taxi up and park your plane for a couple of hours while you go in and explore. If you stay overnight there is a ramp fee for parking there, but it is a fenced compound to protect aircraft parked there. I flew up there with a Searey in tow... I was running 500 rpm lower for the same airspeed and restricted to about 85 mph tops so I wouldn't lose him. Dan

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.~Henry Ford

Hi Gary,It not only looks great, it performs well too! I have to agree with Paul Seehafer and others who have said before that the Highlander is an amazing little float plane. I'm having a blast with mine and I suspect you will too with yours!Have fun and be safe!Dan

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.~Henry Ford

Yeah, the Highlander is a great little amphib. Just slightly slower than a Husky amphib , but faster than a Supercub amphib, and burns only half the fuel of either. The Highlander also carries as much or more than either of the other aircraft, plus it has more room to put all that extra stuff. And it is hundreds of thousands of dollars less expensive. And you can trailer it if desired with the easy to fold wings. There's little to nothing to not like...

In case you haven't seen the news I've enclosed a press release about Clamar's move to the US....I'm very keen to put a set of our 1400's on a Highlander and would love to hear more about your experience. I'm not sure I saw in the post the powerplant you have...

Hi Paul,Give me a call when you get a chance and I’ll try and answer any questions. My plane is a standard Highlander with a Rotax 912ULS. It’s been a busy summer of flying, both the Highlander and RV10. I’ll be taking the floats back off in 4-5 weeks.

Great shots and thanks for this info...one question regarding the deck hatch cover you sourced to allow the extra height. It looks to be slightly convex and I'm wondering if you could direct me to where you obtained it?

Hey Gary, have you utilized the full useful load yet and done any take-offs at 1550 gross? I'm wondering how the Clamar 1400s handle the heavier weight. Also wondering how long it takes to get off the water when you are that heavy. Thanks. Ken